Democracy in Action

Last evening I attended our Oakville nomination meeting for federal MP. The largest group I can recall attended at six and listened to the five candidates once more give their plea why they should be nominated. The crowd was multicultural with many visible minorities present. A genuine buzz was present when the gavel was dropped and the speeches began. Three ladies and two men spoke in random order and all had their team of supporters and small demonstrations were permitted.

What struck me so hard was the attentiveness of the audience. Older school students were there in large numbers, grandparents, mothers with young children and volunteers with their official tags around their necks made the scene one of which we can all be proud because this is the first step in the process of electing our future leaders.

Every party begins with the same basic process whereby the citizens of a riding have the privilege of entering the wonderful political scene and have a direct impact on who represents you. This time I rated the speakers from one to four. If by chance your candidate was elected on the first ballet then they would win. However this rarely happens so the bottom person drops out and then your second choice comes into play and this continues until one candidate has 50+ 1 percent of the votes.

The interaction among the supporters and the candidates is fascinating to watch. Promises are made, begging for a chance, smiling sweetly to folks you do not really like and doing everything legal to get your person elected. I remember in the very old days that more open offers were made when women would be offered nylons or chocolates for their support. Every bag man carried boxes of mickeys of rum or rye in the trunk of his car to insure the collecting of support for their candidate.

Thanks to new regulations that kind of politics went out the window and a more sophisticated system prevails. I must confess I never really grasped the long, drawn out American system but I try and someday I will. I love politics and the processes that get us to where we have a body of people to do the right thing for us is very exciting. I was in politics for over a quarter of a century and it always amuses me when I hear my friends saying things like,all politicians are crooks or I never met an honest politician. It certainly gives me a reality check.

From my experience the people who start out along the political continuum are good people. Sometimes bad things happen to them along the way which causes trouble. If politicians were left to their own devices all would be well but we have so much control from the party hacks, the vested interest groups, the right wing Christians and sometimes their weakness for power and personal greed makes life difficult for humans.

At the end of the night my candidate was second and the person who won was my last choice. All the candidates came together and swore solidarity but I know from experience the losers were preparing for the next round. It was an exciting night as the winner was declared after midnight. I couldn't wait to tell Theresa about my evening as I know she will be thrilled to hear the details.